We Should Share More Than a Tent
by juujin-bunshin
Summary: Written for the NoeHopu tumblr project for the following prompt; Imagine your OTP sleeping together for the first time. Not having sex, but sleeping next to each other. At some point during the night, Person A wakes up and sees Person B curled up next to them, with their arm thrown over Person A's shoulders, making Person A smile before they go back to sleep.


The first night Noel spent sharing a tent with Hope was because a storm was coming and he insisted they stay and wait for it to pass before making their way back out to the gate. Serah was bunking with Alyssa and he was with Hope. He was a bit nervous.

He couldnt' explain exactly why, but he found himself drawn to Hope. Sure he was nice to look at (as any member of his fan club at the Academy could tell you with great enthusiasm) but it was more than that. It wasn't even his title or intelligence - although those were impressive. There was something underneath even all that that was really drawing him in. Tempting him to get closer. Close enough to find out what that something was and why it was so magnetic.

He was contemplating this and fidgeting with the blankets when he overheard Hope talking to Serah outside the tent. The wind was picking up though and he could only capture bits and pieces.

_"...how did you end up here?"_

_"... lost contact with everyone. And then my dad died of his injuries...sent off to the Academy..."_

_"...must have been lonely..."_

_"...but you're here now...and...__a chance to finally prove myself..._"

Suddenly Noel felt guilty for eavesdropping. He quickly dove under the covers and pretended to sleep.

And he kept pretending because he couldn't get himself to actually sleep. He had always thought Hope looked a bit sad, especially when he thought no one else was looking, and now Noel knew what that sadness was. He was surprised he didn't recognize it earlier.

It was loneliness.

Noel knew what that was like. He knew what it was like to be absolutely alone. Hope on the other hand seemed to know what it was like to be alone while surrounded by a sea of people. Noel figured that kind of loneliness must have its own unique pain.

Noel wanted to reach out to him and tell him that they didn't have to be alone anymore. Neither of them did. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. He stayed on his side of the tent and did not move the entire night.

And then it was be time to go, and for an awful second he was almost glad he hadn't said anything because saying something and then leaving right away would have made it feel like a lie. But he didn't want it to be one.

So when Serah suggested they visit Hope whenever they got a chance and Noel didn't object. He told himself he didn't have to say anything. That the visits would be enough. And that it was better this way.

But on one particular visit it was too much. The cheerful mask Hope wore was thinner than usual. Research hadn't been going well and the Academy was threatening to cut funding. And to top it off, Serah told Noel that this would have been Hope's mother's birthday.

Noel couldn't just let him suffer alone any longer.

That night he set up his sleeping mat right next to Hope's instead of several feet away. Hope didn't say anything about the change and settled down next to him. Noel tried to work up the courage to say something, but unfortunately, he was unable to do so before Hope fell asleep. He sighed and rolled over, and found himself staring at the back of Hope's head. Even if he couldn't say anything, he hoped that at least his presence would get through to Hope and let him know he wasn't alone.

He dared to scoot an inch closer before closing his eyes.

Hope woke up after a few hours of sleep like he always did. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept through the night. That was normal.

What wasn't normal was the arm wrapped around him and the soft breathing he could feel on the back of his neck. He startled a bit before realizing it was Noel, but luckily he hadn't seemed to wake him.

Hope closed his eyes again and took a deep breath. He took in Noel's scent and felt the warmth and comfort of his body. He felt it in the pit of his stomach and couldn't hold back a smile. He wanted this. He wanted it so badly.

But he knew he couldn't have it.

Once the sun came up Noel and Serah would take off again, and who knew when they'd be back? If they even came back, that was.

No.

He couldn't think like that. That wouldn't help anything. He would at least let himself has tonight and worry about tomorrow tomorrow.

He shifted so he could snake his arm on top of Noel's and gently traced the patterns of the cord Noel wrapped around his forearm. Noel had been through so much. Seen so much. The end of humanity even. It had given him a maturity beyond his years, but it hadn't broken him. Hope didn't know how he'd done it - and he still had so much more to do. He wished he could do more to help him.

To be honest he wished he could do a lot more things to Noel.

There was still too much uncertainty though, and he wasn't ready to face it all tonight. For now, he would take this. And maybe - if they came back - he would let himself hope for more.


End file.
